K12 Headlines

3/7/2014

The Putnam County Board of Education is searching for two people to fill assistant superintendent slots–one for curriculum and instruction and one for human resources and operations–that have been vacant for more than a year.

Research from the Education Commission of the States shows students enrolled in dual programs that allow high school students to complete post-secondary or career and technical training credits are more likely to graduate high school and enroll in a higher education.

The upcoming ruling on a landmark school funding case could force lawmakers to spend $600 million more annually on education. The lawsuit alleges that the Legislature abandoned its constitutional obligation to suitably fund elementary and secondary schools.

A National Center for Education Statistics survey reported that over half the nation's public schools need to be repaired, renovated or modernized. Getting these schools in good condition would cost about $197 billion.

A Palm Beach County School Board proposal would divide the county into four or five regional zones. Students would still get assigned to specific schools, but their parents could more easily opt out and choose from other schools in their area.

A bill to put the brakes on virtual charter schools was approved by the Senate and quickly vetoed by Gov. LePage. The bill aimed to stop the creation of virtual schools while the Department of Education develops its own online offerings.

A bill was advanced to tweak how letter grades are given to schools based on year-end testing and graduation rates. One change would end the practice of giving an automatic F grade if schools fail to test at least 95 percent of students.

3/6/2014

A new statewide tally shows 35 out of 252 school budgets were defeated in town meeting voting, the most since 2003, as voters reacted to the possibilities of increased local school tax rates and state property rates.

The online professional learning company has launched a skills assessment feature for its technology training that enables users to gauge their progress mastering the skills taught through Atomic Learning's library of tutorials.

Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee objected to some K12 school building projects appearing on the design and construction list without appearing to go through the initial planning step under the established process.

When does a local education fight become a national bellwether? When it touches a policy lightning rod, scrambles partisan allegiances and involves political actors who stand in for whole political ideologies.

In the next week, the district will be making the difficult decision about closing neighborhood schools. What is needed is a new set of policies that address the underlying pathology behind school closure. If we do not do this, we will find ourselves having this same discussion year after year.

Almost half of the students text or email while driving, only one in five are eating their fruits and veggies every day and an increasing number are playing video games for more than three hours a day, according to the Ohio Department of Health's Youth Risk Behavior Survey.